Our Finished DIY Sawhorse Table

So while I’m on the reckless tangent of not posting things up in a timely manner, I should probably offer a conclusion to another wayward post from back in July. You might remember over the Fourth of July holiday we were stranded at home and decided to tackle the project of building a table to handle our freelance influx. If not, let me give you a reprisal:

Unfortunately, that’s where I left off in July. Neil was assembling the legs, sweating, and drinking beer and I was painting the door we had to kick in during our friends wedding because the handle broke. Aren’t we lovely? I’m sure Martha Stewart will be calling to have us on the show to make petit fours any day now.

Well, I finally found a few brief minutes away from work to stand on the other side of this table to take some pictures.

You may be wondering why we chose a sawhorse table and why its home is in front of our couch. Believe me I know it’s not aesthetically optimal or cute in the least bit. It’s purely functional — and yellow.

When we started our freelance business a year ago, we had no idea how fast it would take off. I had a lap desk that I’d work from on the couch and Neil had a tiny writer’s desk we picked up from Target after the wedding. We’re renting a small 2-bedroom, 2-bath house while I finish school, what more could we need right? We never thought we’d have more than one project at any one time and that we could easily work together so long as we were in the same room. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong.

Kohler Created now has no less than 5 projects at any time. Neil and I work nearly every night and when we’re not, we’re trying to cook awesome things, hit the gym, and keep up with our e-lives. Our little table is a constant mess of books, notes, and equipment, and we’re always looking over each other’s shoulders to check code and output. We work hard, but we also still like watching our favorite movies/TV and having LAN parties on the weekends. This easy little table has been the answer to our question of how to have a home office that still feels like our home and doesn’t seclude us from our lives. And it cost us under $75 to build!

2 Comments

I’ve been using a very similar setup for many years now. A long narrow table that supports 4 monitors and 2 desktops with a gap in the middle so I can watch TV.

I like the flexibility of your setup in that it uses sawhorses and so you can later on use it for other things. I’ve now worn out the top of my table and am going to build a new one out of a door from a house that was in a fire because it’s super cheap, sturdy, and the burn marks give it character.

I didn’t paint my table, but did toss a tablecloth over it that was made for a buffet. It makes it look nicer and hides some of the cables but the desktops do heat up the area(nice in the winter, crappy in the summer).

Most importantly, congratulations on your freelance work going so well. I want to go freelance but just don’t have the courage yet. I’m taking baby steps though, so maybe I’ll catch up in 5 years. 🙂

I recommend taking the plunge, even just part-time. Worst that happens is that its slow to start. You’d be amazed how a couple of good clients make a good part-time job and word of mouth is the only advertising you need.

Our room gets quite hot too. It’s not a large room and seemingly all of our electronics are in here. Air conditioning was almost useless.